Former Knicks coach Isiah Thomas is lashing out at Magic Johnson over accusations contained in a soon-to-be published book written by the former Laker and Larry Bird, including the claim that Thomas questioned Johnson’s sexuality…… after he was diagnosed with HIV. Thomas is now coaching at Florida International University in Miami after leaving New York. He told SI.com Thursday that he was hurt by the criticism from someone he thought was a friend.
“I really feel taken advantage of for all these years,” Thomas said. “I’m totally blindsided by this. Every time that I’ve seen Magic, he has been friendly with me.” In “When the Game was Ours,” to be published Nov. 4, Johnson claims that Thomas made calls to various NBA contacts after Johnson was diagnosed in 1991, and asked whether Johnson was gay.
“How can a so-called friend question your sexuality like that,” Johnson asks. “I know why he did it, because we used to kiss before games, and now if people were wondering about me, that meant they were wondering about him, too.” Johnson goes on to say that his distrust contributed to his failure to lobby for Thomas’ inclusion on the legendary 1992 Olympic “Dream Team.” Johnson lists the different reasons why he believes the other players on that team didn’t want Thomas on the roster. Co-written by both Johnson and Bird with sports columnist Jackie MacMullan, the book mostly focuses on the intense rivalry between Johnson’s Lakers and Bird’s Celtics in the ’80s.
“I wish he would have had the courage to say this stuff to me face to face, as opposed to writing it in some damn book to sell and he can make money off it,” Thomas said.
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